I need help! Eating issues.

[Freespin]

Oh and I would suggest adding something natural like honey to the mash instead of marshmallows!

 

[GaryBV]

Maybe you know the saying 'you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink' - that sounds like your Buddy. I know it can be very frustrating when you are buying him all these special foods, preparing them, offering them, etc., and he is mostly rejecting them. I had a lovebird like that. Maybe Freespin can post his recipe for his chop and that could help you. I like his idea of honey instead of marshmallows lol. I'd even consider fruit juice. What I know for sure though is that if you stop offering him the fresh foods then he will NEVER have the opportunity to have them, so just keep it up. I think if you are offering rice dishes to try to avoid white rice, as it is the least nutritious of the rices - that the best is brown rices, brown sprouted rice and gaba rice - they are much better than white. I incorporate gaba rice in the chop I make up for my parrotlets and lovebirds, but I have a rice cooker that makes it although it takes hours. On another note my chop is just that, when you say 'mash' to you mean that you mash up everything together and it becomes a paste - like mashed potatoes? If not I wonder if your bird would eat a mash like that. I've never tried making a mash for my birds although I have tried the Roudybush mash products.

 

[Freespin]

*her* =p hehe
Fruit juice is also a good idea!

I don't have a set "recipe" I just get ideas from everyone else and make it up as I go! I'm actually making some as I type (what a mess!) Today I have slightly steamed some kumara and carrot, raw carrot, banana, broccoli, strawberries, paw paw, orange capsicum, sprouts, orange, corn, apple and mixed lettuce. Some of it is grates, some finely diced and some is slightly larger chunks. Along with this I feed a budgie seed in small amounts and a conditioning food until he puts on some weight. He also gets plums, lemons and pumpkin mash at the moment while I have it here.

 

[GaryBV]

*her* =p hehe

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH - sorry ! lol

Paw paws???? They are native to my area but I have never seen one, and I have never seen them for sale in our stores, not even at the farmer's markets and those farmer stalls on the side of roads. I have been so curious for so long that several years ago I planted 2 paw paw trees in my 'dog yard' (fenced area) so the deer can't get at them (they destroy nearly every tree I plant) and I am waiting impatiently for them to mature (they are about 6 feet now) to flower and fruit so I can finally see and try one! Where do you get yours?

I have tried and tried to get my birds to try strawberries and with no success and I don't know why. They grow easily here but I rarely get to taste them (mmmmmmmmm fresh grown ripe strawberries ) because the wild birds get to them first.

 

[Freespin]

I just get my paw paw (papaya) from the supermarket, good luck with yours! How odd that you can't find them when they are locally grown! They are probably the ones I'm buying haha

My little guy likes to pick the seeds off strawberries but he will also eat the flesh and my eckie is pretty good about eating almost anything! Lucky there.

 

[GaryBV]

That explains it, I had just never heard papayas referred to as pawpaws before lol. Our paw paws are quite different and are supposed to taste a lot like banana - and instead of having all those tiny little seeds together in the center, ours have big large black seeds. Here is a link about 'America's forgotten fruit' lol -

The Pawpaw: Foraging For America's Forgotten Fruit : The Salt : NPR

Here is what the fruit looks like:

The American Pawpaw Fruit

 

[drlisaort]

When I brought Oliver home last January (We bonded from 5 weeks old every weekend until he turned five months old and came home) he was toe tapping and pacing. The breeder mostly fed him seed and pellet after he outgrew the baby formula and then closer to five months old he gave him a chunk of apple daily with the seed and pellet. So, after reading a voracious amount of information on this species I realized the diet was wrong for Oliver. Immediately I started him on fresh fruits and veggies (but remember he was still a baby making it much easier than your situation) and he ate and ate. I also gave him the seed/pellet concoction the breeder sent me home with and slowly cut the portions daily until I was left with only a tablespoon a day where he's remained since. I can say his feathers are luscious green and his disposition is very sweet and the toe tapping along with the pacing ceased almost immediately. So, in a nutshell (no pun intended!) he eats fresh fruit in the morning, afternoons he eats a muffin I make with crushed eggshells, veggies, fruit, rolled oats, etcetra, and at night I make a warm mush from RoundyBush adding beans and veggies.

Hope this helps!

Happy Holidays!!!!

 

[solrac13]

When I brought Oliver home last January (We bonded from 5 weeks old every weekend until he turned five months old and came home) he was toe tapping and pacing. The breeder mostly fed him seed and pellet after he outgrew the baby formula and then closer to five months old he gave him a chunk of apple daily with the seed and pellet. So, after reading a voracious amount of information on this species I realized the diet was wrong for Oliver. Immediately I started him on fresh fruits and veggies (but remember he was still a baby making it much easier than your situation) and he ate and ate. I also gave him the seed/pellet concoction the breeder sent me home with and slowly cut the portions daily until I was left with only a tablespoon a day where he's remained since. I can say his feathers are luscious green and his disposition is very sweet and the toe tapping along with the pacing ceased almost immediately. So, in a nutshell (no pun intended!) he eats fresh fruit in the morning, afternoons he eats a muffin I make with crushed eggshells, veggies, fruit, rolled oats, etcetra, and at night I make a warm mush from RoundyBush adding beans and veggies.

Hope this helps!

Happy Holidays!!!!

MMMM that sounds Delicious

 

[buddyrecee]

I don't know what Lafeber's uses to stick the pellets together, but I don't think you will find many criticisms of this food, either the nutri-berries or the pellet-berries. Lafeber products are very well thought of. They most certainly can be used as the basic diet, not just treats, but I use them primarly as treats for my birds This is an excellent time to purchase a big tub for about $25.00 as they are on sale for the holidays. You ask if it would be a good morning dish - I think as they are a balanced food they can be given at any time, but it is my experience that my birds feed most heavily in the morning, and that is when I'd concontrate on giving them their most healthful mean.

Here are the pellet-berries on Amazon:


Amazon.com: Lafeber's Pellet-berries for Parrots 3.5lb Tub: Pet Supplies


Here are the nutri-berries on Amazon:


Amazon.com: Lafeber Classic Parrot Nutri-Berries 3.25 lb Tub: Pet Supplies



And HERE are some tropical fruit nutri-berries:

Amazon.com: Lafeber's Gourmet Tropical Fruit Nutri-Berries for Parrots 3 lb. Bag: Pet Supplies



I do believe that the larger the variety of foods you can get your bird to eat the better for it. Ecckies also have specific nutritional needs than other parrots, and I would suggest you visit the site that Mikey has provided to get specific information on your bird:


Eclectus Parrots


I also did a search specifically for Eclectus in bird foods on Amazon and here is what came up:


Amazon.com: Eclectus - Food / Birds: Pet Supplies




It does appear for the Eclectus that it is especially important to for them to have fresh fruits and vegetables - which is what you are having problems with. Good luck

Quick update on Buddy and Lafeber's... He LOVES them!! I have a bag of nutri-berries with 26% pellet and it has corn, bell peppers, etc. mixed in. I give him these in the evenings. I also have a bucket of the pellet berries with cranberries and other fruits that I give to him in the mornings. He is no longer doing circles in his cage demanding human food, well atleast not as much as he was. He seems very content with his nutri/pellet berries and Intune pellet (he's actually eating some of his pellet now)!

I've backed off a bit from fresh fruit and veggies because he started throwing 100% of what I gave him to the bottom of his cage. I'm trying to get him settled and happy with his new food. This is the first time in quite some time now he is content and happy with what I put in his bowl.

GaryBV: you asked what type of "mash" texture was I making him... It really isn't "mash" like mash potatoes, just a mixture with veggies cut up small, with rice, beans, etc.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[Freespin]

Have been thinking about this some more a little... A few things you could try (not knowing what you have tried already).

Offering one type at a time. A slice of apple one day, a piece of pumpkin the next type thing and he may discover something he likes individually and you can build on that instead of an overload of a ton of new things (like a child, i dont know what that is so it must be yucky).

Giving him a small portion or something he loves (pasta or chicken) that is mashed up really fine with a tiny bit of something new so he is bound to eat it then slowly increase the portion of whatever it is you are introducing.

The other idea i had... I know Barry especially MUST have some of whatever i am eating or drinking even if it is just water! What about sitting down with a plate of bird friendly foods and munching on a few piece while he is nearby? It might spark up some interest for him to at least try some things?